Ikonik Lisboa — Hotel in Lisbon

forgot my credit card at home and had to pay in cash at the hotel reception. However, the price quoted there was 25% higher than the online rate. The staff said no discount was possible but offered free breakfast instead. Since it was late, I reluctantly accepted.

That night, they told me the total was €128 and said they didn’t have change, so I paid €130 in cash, including a €2 tip.

The next day, when I requested the invoice, I was surprised to see the amount was only €97 — the same as the online price. When I questioned this, the staff said the higher amount included breakfast. But if I had known breakfast wasn’t free, I wouldn’t have accepted it, especially since I wake up late and don’t eat breakfast anyway.

Moreover, the invoice only shows the room charge, with no mention of breakfast. Are they not issuing invoices for breakfast sales? Or are they giving a separate invoice for it? Either way, this doesn’t make sense.

Even if breakfast was included, the numbers still don’t add up.

Is it normal to pay €128 in cash but get an invoice for only €97?

No one resolved the issue initially. I sent emails but got no reply. After several days, I went to the hotel to complain in person and was only refunded €3, with €29 still outstanding.

Eventually, after submitting a formal written complaint at the hotel, they promptly refunded the remaining amount.

I was able to pursue and recover this money because I live in Portugal and could follow up in person. If I were just a tourist, I likely would have left the country before any resolution, making it almost impossible to get my money back. This kind of experience can seriously harm international visitors’ impression of Portugal.

To the hotel management: please review the surveillance footage from that day. I want to know if you actually received €97 or €128 at the reception. If only €97 was recorded, who pocketed the rest?

Some guest reviews mention theft at this hotel — after my experience, I believe them.

Also, the room is very small, about 15 square meters. If you have problems here, the staff won’t care, and you risk losing your belongings, as other guests...

We spent two nights here. Overall, the hotel’s location is excellent — close to the airport and within walking distance of the red metro line, making it very convenient to reach right after landing.

The service was good. Our room was always clean, the breakfast was very good, and the staff were friendly and eager to help. One small area for improvement would be the room water service. On the first day, we received one bottle of still water, but it was not refilled afterwards. Perhaps it would be provided upon request, but at this price point, I would expect at least one daily refill without having to ask.

The main reason I rated the hotel 4 stars instead of 5 was due to the handling of our early checkout. After arriving in Lisbon, we decided to also visit Porto, so we asked to check out one day earlier. The hotel informed us that a refund was not possible unless we provided a medical report. I understand this is part of their policy, but since we were not cancelling the entire booking — only leaving one night earlier — I had hoped for a bit more flexibility, even if it meant applying a partial penalty. Unfortunately, no compromise was offered, and we ended up paying for an extra night (including breakfast) without staying.

That said, I don’t want to discourage anyone from booking this hotel. The location is excellent, the staff are genuinely kind, and the overall experience was positive. Still, I believe a little goodwill and understanding towards guests in situations like ours would make the stay...

What you want in any hotel: clean, safe and secure. Right?

Look, this is a nice, large, modern hotel. Seems great.

My experience was short, but sadly not great. We stayed one night, and had to get up around 3:30am to get to the airport. Being close to the airpot is a huge plus for this place (8 min drive at 4am). Rooms are small, clean, and totally fine (nothing remarkable).

So here's the bad. Let me preface that mistakes happen, that's fine, but it's how a hotel deals with mistakes is what I'm complaining about here.

At 11:45pm someone tried to enter our room! They had a key and opened the door and came in! ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE material here. Thankfully the person left quite quickly but damage done. Our small family was distraught for hours after this and we got almost no sleep. "Whoops" was the response I got when I called reception. Uhhh.

Upon departure (early) I brought up the issue and was told "our manager will be in touch" (been a few days, I've heard nothing). Also they had offered a premade breakfast to take with us to the airport, however none was provided. Cool cool.

I've received no apology and no follow up from our stay. That's the worst part.

I'll be going back to barricading the doors of my hotel stays with luggage and hotel furniture...